"New Zealand's grass-fed lamb, six sheep per person on the Canterbury Plains, is lean, sweet and delicate. What most of the world means when it orders 'good lamb'."
About Lamb
New Zealand's most internationally famous ingredient: grass-fed on the Canterbury Plains and Otago high country at a ratio of six sheep to every person; the slow maturation in clean, temperate conditions produces a lean, sweet, delicate flavour distinct from European lamb; exported to 100 countries; locally cooked as a rack, slow-roasted shoulder or spit-roast for a hΔngΔ« alternative.
Lamb, a staple of New Zealand's cuisine
New Zealand Lamb
New Zealand is famous for its lamb, the product of vast grass pastures and far more sheep than people. Raised slowly on grass in a temperate climate, the lamb is lean, sweet and delicate, distinct from the more robust European kind. For much of the world, New Zealand lamb is the standard that good lamb is measured against.
Grass-Fed and Clean
The character of the meat comes from the land and the method: open pasture, a mild climate and a slow, natural maturation. That grass-fed, free-ranging life gives a clean, mild flavour where grain-fed or older lamb is gamier. It is a flavour tied to the specific conditions of the country's high country and plains.
The Cuts
The most celebrated preparation is a French-trimmed rack roasted to pink with a herb crust, though slow-cooked shoulder and whole spit-roasted lamb are favourites at gatherings. Because the meat is lean, it is best cooked no further than medium-rare, since it dries quickly beyond that. The Merino lamb of the southern high country is especially prized for its developed flavour.
A National Export
Lamb is one of New Zealand's signature exports, sent to scores of countries and central to its food identity. Yet eaten at the source, simply cooked, it shows a clean sweetness that travels less well than the meat itself. It is a clear case of landscape and method shaping flavour in a way the same breed cannot reproduce elsewhere.
What to Expect
A rack of New Zealand lamb arrives pink in the centre, the herb crust caramelised. The meat is lean and the fat sweet. The Canterbury region's slow pasture maturation is present in the flavour, clean and mild where European lamb is more gamey.
Why Try It
The landscape of New Zealand produces lamb with a distinct flavour, resulting from a clean, temperate, grass-fed maturation system that cannot be replicated with the same breed in different conditions.
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Insider Tips
Order the rack medium-rare, the lean NZ lamb dries quickly if cooked beyond this.
The high-country Merino lamb from Central Otago has the most developed flavour.
Logan Brown in Wellington and The Depot in Auckland both serve reliable NZ lamb preparations.
